The Critique by The Critique

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There are people who go for a movie just because it has made a hundred crores and there are others to whom these crores mean nothing. Every time you felt cheated or disappointed after watching a movie or reading a book that you shouldn't have, you have thought about us. And don't worry, it is not your fault. You are inundated by so much verbiage that it is practically impossible for you to discover quality literature and cinema. That is where we come in. We are â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The Critiqueâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, a team of young and honest critics, catering to the needs of bookworms and cinephiles. We dig into the past, bring out the best in cinema & literature and deliver it at your doorstep every month. This edition, our first, is a promise of a new beginning, of chances that we shall hereon take, of new opportunities and of a new hope. We promise to do what must be done.

Apoorv Singh Saini | Pankaj Singla

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CONTENTS Cinema BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN | P4 Rishabh Kaul

QUEEN | P6 Anuradha Ghosh

Critically Speaking - THE READER | P8 Camellia Debnath

Cinematic Adaptation FILTH | P32 Sayan Maitra

Fan-fiction DRESSING UP | P34 Ankit Sethi

Interview Tête-à-tête | P12 A conversation with Abhaya Simha

Literature TARKASH | P18 Archit Aggarwal

Off the shelf - The Accidental Prime Minister | P20 Rishikesh Vaidya

HARUKI MURAKAMI | P24 Sanchana Krishnan

Larger than life THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES | P26 Sai Venkat

THE PRODIGAL DAUGHTER | P30 Srishti Khatri

Photography Bookworms and Bibliophiles | P36 Chetan Aditya

THE NAME OF THE WIND | P31 Jyotiroop Das

PHOTOGRAPH: Chetan Aditya

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Cinema

“It’s nobody’s business but ours.”

Rishabh Kaul I believe in America

Brokeback Mountain is the story of two young men - a rodeo cowboy and a ranch hand - who meet in the summer of 1963 and develop an unusual bond that is a testimonial to the fact that love knows no boundaries.

f you are not much of a movie person, you may not know much about the title. Probably you know the name because of Anne Hathaway or have heard the name in the beautiful poem Seth MacFarlane recited at Oscars last year, the context being the same. The movie is so grand that I do not feel I’m worthy enough to do what I’m trying to do, but I’ll still try. This wouldn’t be me trying to critique the work but paying homage to it. You’d still be wondering what the genre of the movie is. Epic romantic drama [Wikipedia]. Now what is so great about a romantic film that I wouldn’t stop praising it? Maybe in the hurry you missed out on the word epic. There, I did it again. So let me cut to the point. It’s a story of two bisexual cowboys, in America, in a time when the society was cruel to their kind or as it is popularly known as “the gay cowboy movie”. [If you chuckled, this movie is strongly recommended for you.]

you would be literally slow clapping for them, in your mind, not literally then, but yes. It is their story. Their struggle. Their denial and their acceptance. It doesn’t give out a message, but makes sure you get one. The ladies in the movie are important too. The conflict, the situations, the “fishing trips”, the face off, everything, is unconventional. But it is so beautifully done that it makes you realize the real power of the art of storytelling. I would not like to give away any more plot points as I believe that could and would ruin it for you. I would suggest you not to do a lot of research before watching it. Take my word for it. One more thing that deserves a special mention. The music. Gustavo Santaolalla [You probably know him because of Dhobi Ghat] will make you cry with the soulful theme. Listen to it on YouTube, maybe before watching the movie and you’ll get a slight taste of the profoundness the movie possesses.

The movie is based on a short story by E. Annie Proulx [for all you readers out there]. The subject of the movie is obviously a difficult one. Who would like to see a “gay cowboy movie” after all? Let me assure you, you do. The way Ang Lee has developed the characters of the two protagonists, the way the two actors Film: Brokeback Mountain Director: Ang Lee have done justice to their roles, it is commendable. That is a very generic Cast: Heath Ledger, Jack Gyllenhaal, statement to make, I know, but it makes Michelle Williams, sense in every aspect for this movie. Their Anne Hathaway first [sexual] encounter is one of the many Music: Gustavo high points in the film. The ease with Santaolalla which the two actors manage to do that,

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I could go on discussing other aspects of the movie but I tried to focus only on the hard hitting ones. In my personal opinion this romantic drama should be counted amongst the likes of Titanic, which I do. It is brilliant, it is supreme. And the same movie lost in the best motion category to Crash. You may not have heard of it. I suggest you to watch that too. It was one of the most depressing decisions by AMPAS [in my opinion]. In closing words, the final scene of the movie. The subtlety, the brilliance, the message, the idea, the love. 4

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Of the Joy of Womanhood Anuradha Ghosh

A review of the movie ‘Queen’

Happy Homemaker

“ Main India se hoon, Rajouri. Rajouri suna hai? Apne honeymoon pe akele aayi hoon”

hen you reach the end of the road, you can create a brand new path for yourself. When you feel life has fallen apart into bits, you can pick up the pieces one by one and create a better life for yourself. When you feel your friends have left you, you can reach out to the world and make a few new acquaintances. Better and Bolder. When no one is willing to understand you, you can take a hard look to understand yourself. There could not have been a better movie to celebrate the spirit of Womanhood. A big pat on the back for the ‘Queen’ of natural artistic talent, Kangana Ranaut! The movie opens to the tune of a conventional 'happily ever-after' tale of love, romance and marriage, as Rani (or Queen, as her fiancé fondly refers to her) is about to settle into a life of blissful matrimony. All of a sudden, however, Rani’s life is turned upside down, as her boyfriend realizes that the predictability of a life of domestication was too much of a sacrifice for him. His rejection of Rani in the midst of their wedding celebrations comes as a rude shock and for a melodramatic moment we are made to witness her heart-break and utter desolation. Ironically, the story takes off from this point as Rani realizes that the only way out of her despicable situation is to bounce back into life. In the toughest few moments of her life, she decides to go alone on her honeymoon to Paris, in what can only be described as the calling of her soul. Although fresh out of an ordinary, middle-class, slightly conservative Hindu family, Rani, as the rejected bride-to-be, shows herself to be a woman of exceptional maturity in her typical clueless ‘Dilliwali’ interactions with the decidedly exotic French. Lisa Haydon brilliantly pulls off her role as the ‘Gori Kudi’ who takes Rani on a thrilling adventure through the night streets of La Villes des Lumières. The cast is

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very well complemented by Rani’s accidental roommates who happen to be from three different corners of the globe. The story really starts to evolve after the intermission with Rani exploring her true potential as a connoisseur of the classical Indian snack of Gol Gappa. All through the movie, the audience is led along the path of her self-exploration gently, yet convincingly, until she is able to confront her fiancé, only to end the plot on a high note of suspense.

reflect instances from Kangana’s own life, probably one of the reasons she was high on the casting list of Vikas Bahl. From a runaway small-town Himachali girl with dreams to make it big in Bollywood, Kangana Ranaut seems to have come a long way. Her earlier movies showed off her histrionic side as a neurotic wreck in 'Woh Lamhe', 'Life in a Metro' and 'Fashion,' for which she deservingly received two Film: Queen prestigious Filmfare Awards. However, in Director: Vikas Bahl spite of her superb acting skills, she was Cast: Kangana Ranaut, getting typecast as an actress showing only As a honeymoon destination, the exotic Lisa Haydon, her vulnerable side even in the movies that European locales act in favour of the Raj Kumar Yadav followed. 'Queen' therefore, presents her in a movie, as do the superbly talented foreign Music: Amit Trivedi delightfully different light where she sets actors who are a natural choice to play aside her qualms and conventionality to their respective roles. The audience travels with venture out on a journey of self-discovery. In this Kangana from the din of Delhi streets to the glittering sense, one has to give her credit as the effervescent and alleys of Paris to the enchanting setting of Amsterdam effusive Rani. I sure walked out of the film feeling a and back to Delhi as the story comes full-circle. There little more like a Rani myself, reliving the joys of could not have been a better choice than Kangana as womanhood that Rani helped me revive. the heroine of this movie that epitomises everything that a woman aspires to be. The movie also happens to

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Critically Speaking

The Kid, the Woman & the Man A critical review of ‘The Reader’

Camellia Debnath Realizing life once at a time

Michael Berg as a teenager, had an affair with an older woman, Hanna Schmitz. Almost a decade later, the two encounter each other again as Hanna defends herself in a war-crime trial.

ovies are a source of entertainment, a piece of another man’s thought to be relished and explored in search of the spectrum of human emotions. Directing a movie is an art; the director reads the story, forms a perception in his mind and reproduces that perception. And when the movie is screened, every person forms his or her own perception about what they watched. Therefore, judging a movie is difficult, and quite often, foolish. That is why a movie review is nothing but the personal opinion of the reviewer. One should not be so bold as to perceive their opinion to be the ultimate declaration of the film’s quality.

It is a movie set in the post WWII Germany. Here I must confess that I have a soft corner for War Dramas, especially fiction. The way the common lives are torn apart, or brought together by the actions of the political heads of countries pulling the strings of the World can give me food for thought for months at a stretch. Anyway, coming back to the movie, it is told from the viewpoint of a German lawyer, Michael Berg. It is about his encounters with Hanna Schmitz.

Hanna Schmitz transforms Michael from a boy into a man. Even though many people have branded the more than modest display of physical contact and nudity in the movie as condemnable and With this thought, I will try to express my equivalent to pedophilia, we must keep in mind thoughts of a movie I watched a while ago. Once in that all those scenes were not created to convey a while, you come across those rare films which any sort of message or publicize any sort of make you wonder about the intricacies of the notion. They were created to throw light on the human mind, the various inexplicable ways in life of Michael and the incidences which shape which the human mind perceives itself and forms his personality in the future. The time he spent its own idea of good and bad, pride and dishonor, with Hanna, and undoubtedly the love and hatred. You watch the movie physical relationship they had, had a and say to yourself, “that is why, defining impact on Michael’s life. We all filmmaking is an art.” Of course, there have some or other defining incidences are movies which question your sanity in our lives, sometimes sooner or and insult your very existence, but let sometimes later; incidences which us not tread upon that path, because change the way we are and see the goodness cannot be measured against world, after which we do not remain the badness – it has to be measured against same person as we were before. Some of your pre-existing idea of goodness. those experiences are excruciatingly painful, or surprisingly exhilarating, The film I want to talk about is The Film: The Reader and in Michael’s case – a dark, forbidden Reader, released in 2008 and starring, Director: Stephen sense of growing up. It is ironical among others, Kate Winslet, Ralph Fiennes Daldry though, that the same set of events that and David Kross. With such stellar names, Cast: Kate Winslet, affected Michael so much had hardly any you have high expectations before you David Kross, major relevance for Hanna. She, even even begin to watch the movie. So did I. Ralph Fiennes throughout their sexual encounters, And to speak for myself, they were Music: Nico Muhly called him “kid” and belittled his rewarded well.

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pathetic attempts to pose as a grown-up on many occasions. It could be the sheer age difference between them, or the fact that Michael gradually turned into Hanna’s source of novels and stories than just being a sexual partner. It became crucial that Michael first read to her before proceeding to the pleasure part of their meeting. Michael was just a READER to Hanna.

“Hanna Schmitz transforms Michael from a boy into a man. Even though many people have branded the more than modest display of physical contact in the movie as condemnable, we must keep in mind that all those scenes were not created to convey publicize any sort of notion. They were incidents that shape Michael’s future.” However, their secret meetings are cut off when Hanna suddenly disappears after getting a promotion at her job. Michael is not given any prior hint or explanation to such a behavior, which further proves that Hanna had little to no attachment to the “kid”. The most interesting part of the movie, and therefore the most talked about, is Hanna’s unpredictable and apparently eccentric choice of priorities during her trial for serving as one of the SS guards letting 300 Jewish women

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die in a burning church. This trial was Michael’s second encounter with Hanna. He was attending the trial as a part of a seminar while attending law school. Hanna denies her involvement in writing the report on the church fire; but when asked to provide a handwriting sample to prove her innocence, she chooses to accept the accusations. Ilana Mather, a survivor from the camp which Hanna guarded speaks of how Hanna used to make other children from the camp read to her. Hanna is sent for life imprisonment. Michael figures out that Hanna is illiterate and would rather accept punishment for false accusations than accepting her illiteracy. What does it tell about Hanna –that she is too proud to admit her weakness, or too foolish to understand her priorities? During the trial when Hanna’s fellow SS guard were desperate to avoid a life imprisonment or possibly even a capital punishment by putting the blame on Hanna, Hanna just wanted to keep the knowledge of her illiteracy from the public at any cost. This fact, insignificant compared to the gravity of a trial, was of utmost importance to Hanna, more important than freedom, or life itself. And here it is - when the human mind becomes too complicated for us to understand, when the fine line between sanity and insanity seem to disappear. And what does Michael

do? In spite of knowing about Hanna’s illiteracy, he chooses to remain silent. He does not defend Hanna. Maybe Hanna’s contribution in the killing of hundreds of Jews is just too much for Michael to forgive. Or maybe he is too disgusted with himself for once having an affair with a criminal. Michael, now a grown up divorced man with a daughter, reads the books from the time of his affair with Hannah in audio tapes and sends them to her. Hanna checks those books out from the prison library and teaches herself to read and write. She even sends Michael notes, and even though Michael does not reply to those letters he still keeps on sending Hanna the recordings. Finally, Hanna is allowed early release from prison due to good behavior and Michael arranges a home and a job for Hanna. He even comes to meet Hanna a week before her release.

“How could it be, that words printed on a dead page had more power over Hanna than did the screams of those 300 women behind the locked doors of a burning church?”

relived the horror of the Jewish prisoners in the concentration camps. How could it be, that words printed on a dead page had more power over Hanna than did the screams of those 300 women behind But Hanna never gets to taste her freedom, or the locked doors of a burning church? Maybe maybe she does, in a different way. Michael arrives Hanna’s conscience started waking up after her at the prison on the date of Hanna’s release only meeting with the adult Michael. to find that she had committed Michael Berg: I'm aware I was When years ago she had suicide. Hanna had left difficult. I wasn't always open indulged in an affair with a Michael a note telling him to with you. I'm not open with 15 year old boy, she did not give the cash in a tin can anyone. seem to have any sort of and money from a bank attachment with him account to Ilana. She had Julia: I knew you were distant. whatsoever. Young Michael was killed herself after reading just a tool providing her You know, I always assumed it Ilana’s memoir in which she mental and physical pleasures. was my fault. accounted her horrific Her actions as a guard of an experiences in the extermination camp provide Michael Berg: Julia. How wrong concentration camp. The further proof of her cold can you be. question that comes to mind at conscience. Maybe it will not be this point is that why, why too bold to say that Hanna’s humanity would have now, Hanna decided to kill herself. She already slept on had she not learnt to read and met knew of her guilt, there was nothing new for her Michael again. And Michael? Well, Michael perhaps to know about the crimes she committed as a guard could never get over his affair with Hanna. His of a concentration camp. Also, she killed herself affair with Hanna forever etched in his memory as at a time when she had already learnt how to read the first romance of his life, and he could never and write, a feat that she held in utmost regard, detach himself from Hanna. He met her, again and in the greatest reverence. What made Hanna kill again, in different crossings of his life. Maybe he herself? Was it just the description of the didn’t know it himself, or maybe he did - but sufferings of Jews as Ilana narrated? Or was it Michael loved Hanna, and he loved her even after something else? Did she realize after meeting the her death. At the end of the movie we see Michael adult Michael what all wrong she had done? Maybe taking his daughter to Hanna’s grave to tell her meeting Michael made her truly understand the their story. gravity of her crimes, how it alienated her from her “kid”. Reading Ilana’s book intensified her The writer is a Fourth Year Undergraduate Student at BITS burden. When Hanna could finally read, she was Pilani, Pilani Campus able to see the horror of millions of Jewish victims from her own eyes. By reading the book, she

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tête-à-tête

Kurosawa, Kubrick and Karnad A Conversation with Abhaya Simha For someone who won the National Award for his very first movie, he is almost too humble. For someone who makes Kannada films, he has quite an impressive knowledge of Hindi as well as world cinema. He starts talking and it seems like he has been waiting to tell these stories for a long time. Kurosawa, Kubrick, Karnad - The conversation veers from one to the other and to much else- to his FTII years, to the joys and the travails of being a film maker, to his journey into the world of cinema- he answers every question with a candour that is both encouraging and heartening. For behind that film maker lies a passionate lover of cinema who not only understands the medium, but has a deep respect and regard for it.

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Tell us about your first film. What was it about? My first film was called Gubbachigalu. It was a children’s film. It was about sparrows - Missing of sparrows.

beautiful that you want to do something about them. What differentiates a film maker from somebody else is we know what to do with it. You know how to express it.

Gubbachigalu means sparrows? Yeah, you must have observed, sparrows are vanishing. Here you might find some, but in Delhi or in Hyderabad, there aren’t many left. It was about that. No heroes, no songs. It got the national award for the best children’s film of the year 2008. When you were working on your next movie, how big a pressure was that national award on you? Did it affect your thought process in any way? Did it make your struggle a bit easier?

Yes. A storywriter might tell it in the form of a story but a film maker thinks in audiovisual terms. So we start adding something to it, start removing something from it, something starts growing. Sometimes it doesn't, sometimes it does. When you approach a movie, is there a particular method that you follow?

See, once the script is ready, everything becomes a war like situation. You’ve heard of Robert Bresson? He said that film making is a military art. Once you have the script, everything has to be disciplined. No wasting It didn't affect my thought process thankfully, but I'm of resources. Of course shooting is creative, but by that really happy that it won the national award. It changed excuse, I can't say ki chalo aaj mood nahi hai, a lot for me. It gave me a pat on the back, saying that shooting nahi karna. (I am not in the mood today, I you are in the right direction. Maybe one day, you will don’t want to shoot. ) Someone is spending money. At become a good film maker. In that way it was a morale the same time, you shouldn't say ki booster, it didn’t become a hindrance And these things are so sweet abhi kuch bhi karke shooting khatam for my next film. Now that I’ve got and so beautiful that you want karna hai. (Let’s just finish the the national award, I have to work in to do something about them. shooting somehow.) Actually, your the same artistic way - that didn’t homework pays in that. Until you What differentiates a film happen. Though I was a little finish your script, it's more or less, popular, young age me national maker from somebody else is your pen and paper or your laptop. award aa gaya, wo sab tha (I got the we know what to do with it. Writing, writing, writing. The more National award at a very young age. effort you put into that, the easier production and post All that was there.), but it also worked the other way, prodution becomes. So at that point, I don't force because people were like– arey ye to artistic picture myself. As I said, I have made only 3 films. I had banata hai, commercial film banana nahi aayega isko. opportunities to make more films , but I chose not to. Gaana kaise karega shoot? Because as a film maker, once I decide to make a film (He makes artistic films. He won’t know how to make with a script, I have to live with that script for at least a commercial one. How will he shoot songs?) an year. I take a long time to decide a story. As a film maker, you are thinking- Can I live with this film for Where do the ideas for your movies come from? my entire life? That kind of pressure is always there, What is it that prompts you to develop any idea into a but at least your attempt should be satisfactory. People story and then to eventually make a movie on it? might write whatever, you might get criticism, because Sometimes, some memories or some song might criticism is a part of it, but at least you should be trigger something. Sometimes, some ambience might satisfied with the effort you have made. 100%. do that or some locations, like what happened when I Honestly. So I take a long time to decide on the came here yesterday. Just opening that door (points to subject, and once it is decided, I take even longer time a door), one remembers a particular smell, like maybe to write. I write a lot of versions. For my first film, I an old building smell, or the smell of your books, wrote about 8 or 9 drafts, for the second one, Shikari, I maybe your old textbook that triggers so many wrote 13 drafts and for my third film, Sakkare, I wrote memories. And these things are so sweet and so The Critique

26 drafts. Can we say that you are gradually moving from artistic cinema to more mainstream, more commercial kind of cinema? (Emphatically) No, I'm not! I'm not! I don't personally believe that I am moving from something to something. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m just going from one story to another story. Does Bollywood tempt you? Are you planning to make a Hindi film anytime soon? I want to make a Hindi film, but not because of Bollywood or money. I want to do it because through Hindi, I can reach out to more people. But I will do a Hindi film only when I have a suitable story. If a story charms me enough, I will think about it.

Initially, I had planned on becoming a journalist. I was studying literature and journalism and I also had contacts in the journalism field. But then somebody told me about FTII. I went there and that changed my world completely. That film you shot on the VHS camera, it brought about a self-realization for you? Yes, sort of. It happens to all of us at some point or the other. I did my +2 in Science. I wanted to get a job in Intel and go to America. A job in America was back then, the best thing in the world. American dream was very prominent then. Now thankfully, you have better opportunities here.

I used to write and my plays would get published. I had a good literature background in my family. My grandfather is a writer, my father is a writer and he runs a bookshop as well. As I came to graduation, I When and how did your journey into the world of said - no more science. I don't even cinema begin? The whole process was so Actually, I did my graduation in exciting, so intriguingki boss, remember what my entrance exam score was. I was already interested in literature and journalism. Kannada ye kuch hai, isme kuch maza the arts. So when I entered graduation, literature, English literature and hai. Kuch karna hai isme. I I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to Journalism were my three majors. wanted to study the medium. be. I wanted to be a journalist, or a During my college years, I was into writer or something. Something on those lines. theater. I wrote and directed stage plays. I occasionally used to act too. One of my friends had to write a thesis once. He was a psychology student and he was doing a study on the psychology of twins and triplets. He asked me to help him out saying he needed some photographs for his project. I was good with camera and computer related stuff. I had a Pentium. During that time, in around 2000-2001, having a computer was a big deal. I was excited ki friend ne bola hai to karenge. (My friend is saying, so Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll do it.) I asked him - Why don't we make a film out of it? It was a very random thought. So just like that, we borrowed a camera, a third hand VHS camera and started shooting. How did you decide to join FTII? We were such novices in the field that after we had shot the footage, we were like - Sab shooting to ho gaya, but it still doesn't look like a film. Somebody then told us that you have to edit it. Then it becomes a film. The whole process was so exciting, so intriguingki boss, ye kuch hai, isme kuch maza hai. Kuch karna hai isme. (This is something. I want to do something in it.) I wanted to study the medium. The Critique

Any favorites from the writers whom you read during your college years? Most of my reading was in Kannada, because I studied in Kannada medium. My English was pathetic. It still is. In degree education, I took English literature and that's all I've read. But in Kannada, I've read almost all the prominent writers. I still read, but now my reading has come down drastically. Now I hardly find time to read. U.R. Ananthamurthy is one of the greats, Girish Karnad is another and there are many other prolific writers in Kannada who have inspired me. Tell us some of the moments from your FTII days which you miss? We had 3 full-fledged film theatres inside the campus. You just had to write a letter, give it to the concerned department and get the film print. National Film Archive is just 100 meters away from the campus. So, you just had to write a letter â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Mujhe Kurosawa ka ye film dekhna hai. Print aa jata tha. (I want to see that film by Kurosawa. The print would arrive) 14

That is great! That is brilliant. Those were some of the most fantastic days of my life. Also, FTII is around 50 years old, so we have a very strong alumni network. Bhansali is from FTII, Rajkumar Hirani is from FTII, Subhash Ghai is from FTII. Shatrughan Sinha, Om Puri, Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi, Jaya Bachchan… All these guys keep coming to the institute. Aamir Khan started his career in FTII - he used to act in the diploma films. His first film is shot in the FTII campus itself. Rakyesh Omprakash Mehra’s Holi – That is also shot in FTII campus.

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Do all these legends come and teach the students sometimes? Yeah yeah. For three months, we had Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s editing class. He was there as a guest faculty. You’ve seen Munnabhai series? Producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra - FTII. Director Rajkumar Hirani - FTII. Cinematographer C.K. Muraleedharan – FTII. Binod Pradhan – FTII. They were shooting in Bangalore and I went there. Almost the entire team is FTII. So you feel ki arrey jake mil lu. (I should go and meet them.)

There are movies that we watch and forget the very next day and there are movies that stay with us for so long, they become almost a part of us. What is it about these movies that makes them stand apart? Is it the plot or is it something else? See, if something is plot driven and you know the plot, then that's the end of it. Say you are reading a murder mystery and you know who the murderer is, then why would you read it again? Whereas, making films on those kind of stories, Hitchcock becomes a classic film maker. Because, though it is whodunnit, there is something more than that, the films last with us for a different reason. Kubrick remains with us for the same reason. You can't attribute that to plot. It's the extension of his narrative which is appealing to us. Let's take Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali. It has a very good story, Apu's story. But the film doesn't remain with us for that. The movie's beauty stays with us. Any of the Kubrick's films- they stay with me through some shots, some sounds. The colors he uses are just brilliant. Consider Kurosawa’s film - Dreams. It's produced by Spielberg. (For the first time in 40 years, Kurosawa wrote the screenplay alone. Steven Spielberg convinced Warner Bros to produce it.) You have to watch that film. These guys were big fans of Kurosawa. So they wanted him to come to Hollywood and direct a film. This guy comes to Hollywood. He creates a huge Japanese set inside the studio and shoots a Japanese film. (laughs) And these guys are like – What! But it's a brilliant film, Dreams. It is set in multiple dimensions, like his dreams from the younger

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age, the folklore and the stories he had heard. It's a collection of many small dreams. In one of the dreams, there is this painter, you must have heard of him..... (tries to remember), Van Gogh. (Played by Martin Scorsese) One of the dreams is about Van Gogh's painting. The flower garden. Kurosawa is inside that. The entire film happens inside that garden. And it looks exactly like the garden in the painting. Mind blowing. And the colors! We usually associate Kurosawa with black and white films. And here, he proves that he is a master of color. He stays with me for that. And as a film maker, it has to sync with me in that way. I'm composing and if I start thinking like Kubrick or Kurosawa, that Kubrick keeps his shots like this, I will also do that, then I am dead as a film maker, because then I’m just imitating somebody. What according to you makes a movie universally appealing? There isn’t a definite answer to that. Again I refer to Kurosawa. Kurosawa becomes a universally appealing film maker, but he doesn't become a universally appealing director because he is making universal stories. He is making very local stories. The beauty of art is that the more local you become, the more universal your emotions are. Everybody feels pain, everybody feels love towards something. Emotions are universal. The story may be as local as possible, it might be your village, your childhood crush or anything. But the emotion is universal. It’s just that the

way you experience or the way you express it is different. That's what makes it interesting, because the moment you see a film, you identify with the emotion. Take Bollywood. They have made thousands of films about love and yet they are still making more. Because the way it is expressed is different. And there lies the beauty. What are the joys of being a film maker? What are the lessons you have learned during your film making years? Every day of shooting is a learning experience. Yesterday, when we were coming here, we just stopped on the way for a cup of tea. We met an old man who was playing cards with his grandson. I went and sat next to him. He stopped playing and he started talking to me. He talked about everything from Kejriwal, to the Bajra ka rate (price of millet) and I came to know that he was a truck driver and that except for Kashmir, he had travelled all around India. So, he knew Bangalore, he knew Kerala, he knew almost every place. You don't expect to randomly meet a person in a tea stall, and that too, in a small village somewhere. These are some of the things that are very exciting about film making. It is one aspect of film making which I like a lot. You get to meet such amazing people. You get to hear some amazing stories. So when you go out there, you look at all these people having stories of their own? Everyone has stories right? It's so amazing to meet people and just listen to them. I have been in the industry for eight years. I've made a lot of documentaries and short films but only three feature films, which is a very small number. But I enjoy the process so much that I take a long time to write my scripts. I meet characters, I talk to them. Not all of them become a part of my script but it helps me grow as a person. It helps me understand my audience better. In a live performance, you can see your audience. So the kind of language we use, the kind of approach, it’s easy. With a film, you don’t know who is watching it. So you constantly need to keep in touch with your audience. Then you will be able to narrate their stories.

somehow the peace of mind that he get there helps him get new ideas. Do you feel like doing that sometimes? When you have, say a writer’s block or in your case, a director’s block maybe? See, of course everybody has the writer’s block. Especially when you’re writing a script. It starts from the writer’s block and it ends with a writer’s block. We are bombarded with so many ideas. As I understand, writer’s block doesn’t happen because you don’t have ideas, sometimes you have just too many ideas and you don’t know which one to choose. That’s usually the case. But anyways, our life is full of stories. We don’t know which is the right story, or which is the story worth telling. It may be that you know the story, but you don’t know how to tell it. Yes. All these things do come in and that’s when the block happens. It’s not that we’re starving for ideas. We have lots of ideas, but we don’t know which one to choose. And isolation, which is probably what he meant, helps with this. One can refine ideas in a clear manner. In isolation, one cannot get new ideas. Everything is inspired from your life. It doesn’t mean everything is copied but everything has a source. So you just go along with the story that comes? Yes, exactly. You meet people and stories start taking shape. I conducted a workshop in Bangalore recently. There, one of my students was a producer. After the workshop, he came to me and said –Sir. I’ll produce your film. I said fine, let’s talk. So something starts like that, you know. I have been coming to BITS for the past 6 years now and do you know how I met Geetha B. Ma’am? She visited our bookshop once, years back, and she was searching for some books on cinema. There she met our shop assistant and he saw her interest in film books. He said – You know, our owner’s son is a film maker too. She asked him – Who is he? And that’s how we met. Such things keep happening right? And you can’t plan those things. Life, if you see it that way, is a long chain of random coincidences. Yes, exactly.

In an interview, Vishal Bhardwaj once said that he goes to the mountains and takes long walks and The Critique

Interviewed by Pankaj and Venkat. Compiled by Sayan and Rajas.

Literature

Tarkash Quiver of Thoughts

Archit Aggarwal Yet another (to-be) Engineer

Javed Akhtar “Tu to mat keh humein bura, duniya, tune dhala aur dhale hain hum”

ow would you react if I told you that I am going to review a book by Javed Akhtar? Yes, the same Javed Akhtar who has written scripts for more than a hundred Bollywood movies, who has composed some of the most lyrical songs you’ll ever come across in a Hindi movie, who has penned numerous collections of poetry. Yes, the same Javed Akhtar who has participated in dozens of national and international poetry reading events where he has read poems written by Kaifi Azmi, a world renowned name in Urdu poetry and his mentor and father in-law, and yet, he is the same Javed Akhtar who has been accused of writing filth like Dard-e-Disco. These extreme sides of Akhtar’s writings forced me to pick up one of his books of poetry to look deeper into what one can say, his real thoughts. “Tarkash” or “Quiver”, as it is called in its translated version, was published almost 20 years ago, in 1995, but no word or thought expressed in this collection of fifty poems has become outdated. “Tarkash” is a piece of art which takes years of patience to perfect. From struggle in Bombay for a livelihood to marital problems, from the terror every newcomer feels when he comes to the filmy city to the joy of watching his kids growing, every emotion which the poet went through during the writing period, is explored in the most poetic way. The book begins with a self-written note where Akhtar tells his readers about the happy and sad moments which contributed in making him what he is. Poems like Ek Mohre Ka Safar (The Journey of a Pawn), Bhookh (Hunger), Mother Teresa and Subah Ki Gori (Morning’s Maiden) are the ones where Akhtar’s creativity is at best. Who would not like these lines from Ek Mohre Ka Safar: The Critique

“Jab vo kam umr hi tha usne ye jaan liya tha ki agar jeena hai badi chaalaaki se jeena hoga aankh ki aakhiri had tak hai bisaate-hasti aur veh maamooli-sa ik mohra hai ik ik khaana bahut sochke chalna hoga” This translates to:

“When he was still quite young He learnt that if you want to stay alive You have to be cunning as you can.

just in line with the original text. Ghazals and couplets, which form a significant part of the book, will surely make a reader jump with happiness or bring a smile on his face or force him to clap for the poet’s economic choice of words. As an example, here is something which became a part of my memory, the moment I read it first:

“Aaj ki is duniya mein jeene ka kareena samjho, Jo bhi milein pyaar se un logon ko zeena samjho”

The board extends as far as the eye can see, And he is just an ordinary pawn. He has to go from square to square, with utmost thought.” The book is basically a narration of Javed’s life. The poems dive into different phases of his childhood, the nostalgia he feels for the times gone by, the struggle he has faced and ultimately, his success. Each poem is different from the others in the collection, in structure and rhyme, rhythm and theme. Every poem is followed by a couplet which despite of being smaller than a poem, has almost the same depth, if not more. Since Akhtar hails from an Urdu background, there are a lot of Urdu words weaved carefully and artistically in the mesh of Hindi, but this does not make the book inaccessible to people who don’t know Urdu. Every difficult word is explained at the margin of the page,

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Which means:

“The way to live in this wide world is very clear; Count those who greet you with their love a useful stair!” Life is unpredictable and it has its ups and downs. Many a poets before Akhtar have expressed these thoughts and many will continue to do so even after Akhtar is gone. The beauty of Akhtar’s writing lies in the subtle yet poignant way he has expressed the same age old thoughts through his poetry. This is one of the few books which has been the pride of my bookrack for years. From mesmerizing me to inspiring me to pushing me into the reality of things unsaid, this book has affected me in more ways than I care to remember.

Off the shelf

The Morality of A Memoir

Dr. Rishikesh Vaidya

An almost insatiable desire to understand and explain, almost everything, defines me - well almost!

Is it morally correct to write a memoir of someone (not to mention someone sitting in a prime minister's chair) who has himself not read it, and in all likelihood would not approve of it?

he Accidental Prime Minister is essentially a memoir of the prime minister Manmohan Singh during UPA-1, as seen from the eyes of Sanjaya Baru, prime minister's media advisor as well as a very close confidant who was privy to a lot of matters of governance. The questions that the book tries to address are – (a) Why was UPA-1 more successful than UPA-2? (b) Why did the image of Dr. Singh took such a beating? (c) What is the nature of the relationship between Dr. Singh and the president of the Congress party, Ms. Sonia Gandhi? (d) What is the legacy of Dr. Singh? He provides compelling reasons to believe that during UPA-1, Dr. Singh was not the “puppet PM” that he came to be known as in UPA-2. Despite being an “accidental prime minister” – something he readily confessed to all and sundry, he occupied the country's highest chair with both dignity and great competence during UPA-1. However, in order to understand his work, his successes, and his failures, we must take a glimpse of Dr. Singh, the man.

Style that became Strategy The words that define and describe Dr. Singh's personality are shy, introvert, silent and reticent. For instance, at Cambridge he would take bath before his friends would wake up, for he was too shy about going to common bathroom with his turban off and his hair tied. A man of few words, his shyness often made him appear lacking in warmth and emotion. Unlike successful politicians he could not be Janus-faced and was not capable of instantly switching moods. His introvert nature extended beyond the office walls, to the familiar and warm confines of his home. His daughters confided that they would not know his father's mind on many issues and that he successfully managed to keep family and work into two separate, The Critique

Author, Sanjaya Baru largely water-tight compartments, rarely giving expressions to his thoughts, desires, and frustrations when at home. Mr. Baru, despite being his media advisor, was strongly asked to keep his PR instincts under total check and not “advertise” PM's work. Dr. Singh would rather let his work speak for himself. This is in part also because Dr. Singh knew the fate of his mentor and predecessor, P.V.Narsimha Rao. He knew that anybody without “Gandhi” as a title cannot runaway with name and fame without consequences. Mr. Baru writes, how he often burnt his fingers, earning the ire of Gandhi family loyalist, whenever he publicized Dr. Singh's work, a job he was appointed and paid for. Dr. Singh was notoriously reticent in the official meetings, allowing people to have their say, but finally taking a decision on the file without explicitly stating his views. Over time, as he grew bolder as PM, his style became his strategy. Those whose views he shared would get to speak longer, while others whose views he did not share, were cut short. Being a man of

few words, that is how he spoke his mind (through those whose views he shared) and signaled others that they should fall in line. Though he was largely a listener, he would pose questions that would reveal his mind.

Setting the Context and the Circumstances

â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a Bheeshma Pitamah, who would deliver, until the heir designate was ready for the job. Dr. Singh's job as PM of a coalition in UPA-1 must be viewed in this backdrop of not being a natural claimant for the top job. It is the backdrop of these unusual circumstances that set the perfect recipe for one of the most complex political relationship between an outsider who was nominated as a PM, and a president of the most powerful and the oldest political party with the most powerful family name.

Any understanding of Dr. Singh as a PM must be set in the context and circumstances under which he was offered prime minister-ship. It was for the first time that Congress formed a coalition government in 2004. The Successes of UPA-1 The credit for the victory deservedly went to the Congress president Sonia Gandhi who could not When viewed in the above context and circumstances, become PM due to the issues of her foreign origin. Dr. Dr. Singh indeed had done a brilliant job of reviving Singh who did not even fight the economic growth, managing a Dr. Singh was notoriously election, was a non-controversial coalition of diverse and disparate reticent in the official choice with the highest possible ideologies, handling miscreants meetings, allowing people to credentials and experience in from within the party, and have their say, but finally governance, not to mention his successfully â&#x20AC;&#x153;ending the nuclear taking a decision on the file largely reticent and nonapartheidâ&#x20AC;?. True, owing to the without explicitly stating his confrontational style of functioning. complex circumstances of his It was precisely for these attributes accent to the top, he did not have views. Over time, as he grew that Dr. Singh was also a universally real freedom in choosing his bolder as PM, his style became acceptable choice for the other cabinet, but within these constraints his strategy. coalition partners of the UPA-1. he showed a lot of courage and Sonia could not have asked for a better loyalist determination in being his own man. The example

Sanjaya Baru with then Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh The Critique

photo: Hindustan Times

of signing the nuclear deal with the US was one case where he did not budge from his insistence despite the tantrums not just from the noisy left, but a whole bunch of confused and short-sighted congress men including of course the party president. There is a whole big chapter about what extra-ordinary lengths Sonia went to embarrass the PM, but the PM refused to budge from his stance. This clearly showed that Dr. Singh could be his own man in matters close to his heart. Many other issues were dealt with very deftly during the UPA-1.

power”. It is ironical that the same Dr. Singh had told Sanjaya Baru while appointing him as his media advisor right at the outset of UPA-1''Sitting here, I know I will be isolated from the outside world. I want you to be my eyes and ears. Tell me what you think I should know without fear of favor.” Though media portrayed Dr. Singh as the blind king of Mahabharat – Dhutrashtra, Mr. Baru likens him to Bheeshma – the one who takes a terrible vow and fulfills it. A good, wise and brave man but on the wrong side, defending a disreputable lot. Bheeshma was a tragic hero rather than an object of pity.

Sins of the “Singh who was King”

Sanjaya Baru, ends with pithy questions that will haunt Dr. Singh too: “why did he not quit when he realized he had lost all vestiges of control over the government? If his failure to do so arose from loyalty to Congress or a promise to Sonia, it was misplaced – and unrewarded –loyalty. His apparent commitment to ensuring Rahul's succession, perpetuating Congress Party's control by one family, was even more misplaced. That was Bheeshma's failure too: he should have put his foot down on the Kaurava's succession. Moreover, promising loyalty to hereditary succession is a monarchical attribute, not a democratic one. That was Dr. Singh's fatal error of judgment.”

Thanks to his hard work and foresight, his tenure during the UPA-1 was a brilliant success. Riding on the successes of UPA-1, UPA-2 won the election in 2009. Though the UPA-1 was a gift of Sonia's “sacrifice”, UPA-2 was Dr. Singh's own baby with far better numbers. The trouble was that the Congress (read the party president and a whole bunch of her loyalist) had smelled this and no longer wanted the tune of “Singh is King” to reverberate and haunt them during the UPA-2. As a result he was systematically defanged during the UPA2. What is unfortunate is that Dr. Singh had resigned to his fate that was being scripted for him by the Congress president and her loyalists. What was worse is, despite his personal integrity being unquestionable, he did not feel responsible for the sins of his ministers. As a result, he presided over one of the most corrupt governments of all time in the history of the independent India. During the UPA-2, he once confided to Sanjaya Baru --''You see, you must understand one thing. I have come to terms with this. There cannot be two centers of

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An Aside – The Morality of the Memoir The very nature of this book – a memoir of a PM as a statesmen, and its account by a close confidant who was privy to a lot of things, begs a few important questions that we must “address” before we critically evaluate the “undressed” body of the “truth” it reveals. 22

Is it morally correct to write a memoir of someone (not to mention someone sitting in a prime minister's chair) who has himself not read it, and in all likelihood would not approve of it? A lofty question indeed, and I have no illusions of having any answer to this. However, stopping short of an answer, I do want to share some thoughts on three concerned parties here (a) the subject of the memoir – the PM (b) the author, and (c) the reader. Our conduct in matters of public life have significant ramifications beyond our personal domain. Higher the office, larger the circle of public influence. Hence it is expected that our public life dealings would be discussed, debated, and deliberated upon, ad nauseam. This is the price any public figure will have

would like to quote H.Y.Sharda Prasad who was Indira Gandhi's information advisor for 16 years. When he was coaxed by Sanjaya Baru, back in early 1990s, to write a memoir on his years as advisor to PM, he refused saying, “not only I do not know all the sides of the truth, I do not know how many sides the truth has.” Sharda Prasad's words left an indelible mark on Sanjaya Baru and according to him, he never intended to write a memoir. However, as the scams surfaced in UPA-2, Dr. Singh's image not only plummeted, he became an object of people's ridicule. Mr. Baru felt a need for an objective account that does justice to Dr. Singh's fine qualities as a human being as well as a statesman. Indeed Dr. Singh, as Mr. Baru

to pay as his/her decisions go on to shape history. Having said this, it is incumbent upon any author to maintain highest standards of neutrality and objectivity in his evaluations as it is his/her evaluation that will determine the adjectives and nouns historians will use to paint personalities and events. Last but not the least, before we write anyone off with scorn in our eyes, we must keep in mind that the person being written about, is a human being after all. The one who writes may definitely have his biases, and we as readers may as well be wearing tinted glasses. Why would I not offer these thoughts as an affirmative answer to the “morality of writing someone else's memoir”? Because even if we admit that public figures need to be discussed and debated with brutal honesty, who is going to be the ultimate arbiter of this brutal honesty? I The Critique

puts it is--- unmatched in his unique combination of personal integrity, administrative experience, international stature and political appeal, when compared with anyone in Indian polity. Indeed, it is the height of his stature that makes his downfall momentous. The purpose of Mr. Baru's book is not to absolve Dr. Singh of his mistakes, but to elucidate the circumstances and context that may bring about a better understanding (not necessarily always adulatory) of Dr. Singh as a human being as well as a statesman. I think Mr. Baru does a brilliant job in providing us an insight into the mind of Dr. Singh as also the complex relationship he shared with Congress president Sonia Gandhi and other ministers. The writer is Assistant Professor, Department of Physics at BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus.

Don’t give up on magic yet: Make way for Murakami

Sanchana Krishnan Part-time insomniac, full time artist, perennial wanderer

“ If you remember me, then I don't care if everyone else forgets ”

e are all brought into this world believing in some Wood or Sputnik Sweetheart. Understand the many form of magic or the other. Unfortunately, the robes that love can don and join the throngs of the childhood delights of the tooth fairy and Santa Claus dissipate heartbroken as they take you along their individual in a mist of lies and wishes made upon a star come true only journey. It might just help you unwind the kinks in on rare coincidence or really powerful prayer. But don't your own. His lovelorn characters are often so full of despair. The world isn't rid of magic just yet. Head to a deep insights and simple yet powerful actions that have bookstore and pick up any book by the legendary a lasting impact. There’s hope to be found and Haruki Murakami to rediscover what it feels like to be possessiveness to let go. Without being preachy at all, touched by magic. There are authors who write for the Murakami, through his intricate plotline and varied brave of heart and those who write for the lovers of art, characters teaches you when to hold on to lobe, when but gift yourself a set everything Murakami has ever to fight tooth and nail for it and when to simply let go written and you're guaranteed a set of of it all. Books are entities with whom friends, family, teachers, leaders, we have love affairs from page If you’re feeling a certain sense of therapists and lovers all at once and complacency and your brain cells one to end and it's not once for all. are in need of some exercise, pick

humanly possible to just pick

To read a work of Murakami is to lose up a mystery like After Dark. up a random book and absorb yourself to the world of the surreal and Don’t be deceived by the lack of what it has to show you if you abandon your rationale in the living volume in the book – its plotline is aren’t in a frame of mind to do world. His books are a careful enough to leave you reeling and so. But there’s a Murakami amalgamation of the physical, the with a hundred unanswerable virtual and the metaphysical, allowing a questions for you try and solve for for every mood. healthy mind to understand the unique the days to come. A Wild Sheep internal logic that forms the undercurrent of each book. Chase will leave you chained to your reading spot while your brain thunders along furiously with the If you're feeling melancholy, if you're feeling adventures of the protagonist who finds himself sucked sensitive, if you're reeling from the bruises of into the most bizarre days of his life. unrequited love - pick up books like Norweigian If you, like me, are a very weird person in need of The Critique

some equally odd company, pick up his short story collection The Elephant Vanishes and prepare to be amazed at the sheer oddity of the human race. If nothing else, your self-confidence will be boosted tremendously and you’ll make some fine literary friends (who cares if they’re fictional?). This collection is also good for everyone seeking an escape from the confines of an everyday life without having the means to do something thrill-seeking at the moment. Let the book thrill your imagination instead. I lost myself in Murakami’s words and found myself there, too. Despite having personal favourites, each book of his is a dear friend that’s stood by me in times good, bad and plain strange. If, on any day, you’re feeling the need to be particularly moved, pick up a fragment of this amazing man’s thought process. You won’t be disappointed.

A shelf collection of Murakami’s works.

Covers for two of his books, designed by Murakami himself The Critique

Larger than life

The Motorcycle Diaries Ernesto ‘ Che’ Guevara

Sai Venkat It’s not real

“ This is not a story of incredible heroism, or merely the narrative of a cynic; at least I do not mean it to be. It is a glimpse of two lives that ran parallel for a time, with similar hopes and convergent dreams” - Che

twenty-three year old free-spirited, reckless, romantic, medical student wakes up one morning and decides to go to North America with a friend of his, Alberto Granado, on an almost martyr Norton 500 motorcycle, named the La Pedrosa which, ever so ironically, means ‘The Mighty One’. The ever enthusiastic and charismatic duo actually pull off an 8000 km journey over a span of 9 months.

side of his life before all this became the defining part of his life. The man had an adventurous spirit much before he walked down the revolutionary road. The Journey: Not long after they set out on their journey, The Mighty One succumbs to the assaults of both the

This book, his travelogue, shows the man he was much before he became the renowned Guerrilla warrior. The book starts off with a note which says “This is not a story of incredible heroism, or merely the narrative of a cynic; at least I do not mean it to be. It is a glimpse of two lives that ran parallel for a time, with similar hopes and convergent dreams’’. And I think he sticks to these words. Never in the book does he glorify himself. This book isn't a romanticized tale of his journey either. It's a journal. Written by him, words flowing out from him as images of his country poured into him. The theme of the book? There isn't one! Just like his journey did not have a predefined philosophical destination, the book wasn't intended to preach or project something. It was a travel journal. Of a young man experiencing a different version of his own land for the first time. If not looked at as the footnote story of a revolutionary who turned around the political system of a country, this journal is rather an interpretation of the vivid images this particular young man comes across in his magnificent trip. We know him mostly as a Marxist, a revolutionary, a symbol of rebellion in the modern day with a cult following. All this owing to his political career. Sorry, not career. His political legacy. Reading this book shows us the

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motorcyclists, which they call driving. In contrast to the title of the book, a major part of their journey is covered hiking. Neither of them know much about motorcycles. They have only one

solution for everything, that being tying whose existence they never knew of. People who everything together by wire. And they get to were backward. People who were happy. People who experience more hardships owing to just didn’t care. The oppressed ones. The But what is more this. unknown ones. The forgotten ones. The antics these two people conjure up are endlessly fascinating. They trick people, befriend them, help them and do many other such things just to get a night’s dinner or for no reason at all. But through all these actions they inch closer to a face of their country they never knew about. In a sense, this book has a coming of age nature transformation in him evident.

important is the tone of the journey, not the style, not the magnitude but the tone. An undeniably beautiful narrative. What come of this journey, is I think, unparalleled. where a

Their trip starts from Argentina, Buenos Aires proceeds to Chile, Los Angeles, Valparaiso, Chuquicamata then to Peru, Cuzco, Machu Picchu, Lima, San Pablo continues to Colombia and finally to Venezuela where finally the two separate. The

The first encounter of his with suffering came as a woman who was suffering from asthma and a heart condition. From here, he starts understanding people’s suffering better. He begins to see what people actually go through as opposed to his privileged upper middle class life till then.

In this journey he comes across which make him realise that all the radicalism he had assumed till that point in his life was just a concept as opposed to the bitterness of oppression in reality. He meets a couple on a freezing night who do not even have a blanket to cover themselves. When he interacts with them and offers them a blanket, they respond with a disdain (subtle) for the parasitic nature of their aimless travelling. This is where, I think, the first foundation for his philosophy was laid. In Chuquicamata, he saw the lives of mine workers and their sufferings. Here, he saw the oppression those people were facing and this played a major role in his opinions about the results of capitalist exploitation. They assume the roles of experts in treatment of leprosy as is published in a newspaper and get a lot of help, respect and hospitality owing to this. Later in their journey, they reach the leper colony at San Pablo where they witness suffering of people first hand. They serve the people there for a while, on the banks of Amazon. From there, they leave on a raft.

The narrative: The one thing that sets this book apart from other books/travelogues is the narrative. An undeniably beautiful narrative. He has his own way with words, poetic in a way. The expression is so vivid and enthralling that you feel like you’re a part of the journey too, riding pillion to him. journey starts off a very light hearted tone with them consuming monumental amounts of mate (Argentine equivalent of tea). It gradually progresses to them meeting people in need. People

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This journey, of a troubled youngster who travelled through the length of Latin America is so beautifully told that it makes one yearn to go on a similar trip. They travel through adversities, hospitality, oppression, need, hunger, happiness,

guilt, empathy and other beautiful and pure emotions for which I don't there are words in any language.

wandering around ‘Our America with a capital A’ has changed me more than I thought”. The last paragraph of the book is, I think, what the journey brought about.

The books speaks of the untold tales of South America. A beautiful, beautiful country with such It reads: “I now knew…I knew that when the great natural beauty (which we learn through his words) guiding spirit cleaves humanity into two whose indigenous people go through a lot of antagonistic halves, I would be with the people. I misery owing to many factors of governance which know this, I see it printed in the night sky that I, he would fight further on in his life. The eclectic dissembler of doctrine and psychoanalyst landscapes, the sea, the forests of dogma, howling like one I knew that when the great guiding and all are described in a very possessed, will assault the spirit cleaves humanity into two elegant way. barricades or the trenches, will antagonistic halves, I would be with take my blood-stained weapon There have been a lot of the people. I know this, I see it and, consumed with fury, comparisons which tend to printed in the night sky that I, slaughter any enemy who falls measure this particular journey eclectic dissembler of doctrine and into my hands. And I see, as if a using other journeys as psychoanalyst of dogma, howling great exhaustion smothers this yardsticks. But what is more like one possessed, will assault the fresh exaltation, I see myself, important is the tone of the barricades or the trenches, will take immolated in the genuine journey, not the style, not the my blood-stained weapon and, revolution, the greater magnitude but the tone. An consumed with fury, slaughter any equalizer of individual will, undeniably beautiful narrative. enemy who falls into my hands. proclaiming the ultimate mea What come of this journey, is I culpa. I feel my nostrils dilate, savouring the think, unparalleled. acrid smell of gunpowder and blood, of the enemy’s All of us have political inclinations. He death; I steel my body, ready to do battle, and definitely did. He was one of those few prepare myself to be a sacred space within which individuals who stand as vortex points in the the bestial howl of the triumphant proletariat flow of history. But this book isn't about the can resound with new energy and new hope.” political standing of this person. I don't think he Thus ends the travelogue of Ernesto Che Guevera. had formed his mind about his political standing He lives on, not just on apparel and flags but as completely before embarking on this journey. an idea of autonomous liberation to the oppressed. What came of the journey is mentioned in the A man who, within the scope of this book, starts introduction by himself. He says “The person who off his journey as a boy, exploring his continent wrote these notes passed away the moment his feet and returns as a man, revolutionary in his ideas, touched Argentine soil. The person who firm-set in his beliefs and staunch in his ways. reorganizes and polishes them, me, is longer, at least I’m not the person I once was. All this

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Map of the Motorcycle Diaries

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The Prodigal Daughter Jeffrey Archer

Srishti Khatri A coffee loving skeptic

“ I am reminded of the words carved on the side of the tombs of the Pharaohs. Translated, it reads: ‘ The young are lazy and preoccupied with themselves and will surely cause the downfall of the world as we know it.”

he Prodigal Daughter follows the story of Floretyna Rosnoviski, Abel’s daughter, and her dreams of becoming the President of the USA.

the first elections that she stood for because her classmates couldn’t spell her name, the lesson she draws is to marry a man with a simple last name.

The tale is another typical Archer– it makes you laugh and it makes you cry. It follows the story of an entire lifetime without missing any details. You want to throw the book out the window of a moving bus (you will, trust me, reach that stage in the book), but you end it with a smile on your face. Of course, this kind of genius ain’t typical amongst most of us.

And, of course, I applaud Archer for all the strong women in the book. He captures the hypocrisy of our modern-and-so- stale-minded society with almost perfection. How simple things get blown out of proportion and the extra effort that needs to be put in just because of the fact that it’s a woman we’re talking about. And he perfectly counters the skeptics who seem to believe women can’t have it all.

Now, a Polish immigrant’s daughter becoming the President is something that needs a few generations to be accomplished after being dreamed of. But Archer speeds it up by bringing together the strongest and most rational characters, if I may, into one book. From the nanny to the father-in-law, the protagonist is surrounded by pure genius. Breath-taking plot twists, surreal success stories and the dedication behind those stories only makes you appreciate the story being told. Jeffery Archer knows the subtle art of making the reader unknowingly love the characters. For instance, when our then-young protagonist realizes that she lost

Archer also seems to understand that when you lose something you value the most, and life doesn’t stay the same anymore-- that’s when the magic happens. And that’s when you realize how much you connect with the book and the characters and their lives. That’s when you realize that you love The Prodigal Daughter. And you decide not to throw the book out the window after all. Not because you can’t put the book down, but because you have put it down and thought it through and would still like to sit through it till the end. Because you care about The Prodigal Daughter.

Jeffrey Archer The Critique

The Name of the Wind Patrick Rothfuss “ The best lies about me are the ones I told”

he Name of the Wind is the first part of the Kingkiller Chronicle trilogy. It was recommended to me by a friend who knew that fantasy was my preferred genre. When I purchased the book, it took the combined strength of me and my brother to get it into my room (it’s north of 700 pages). But there is good reason as to why it is so. From the very onset of the book, the reader is drawn into the life of Kvothe, the protagonist. The plot begins when the present Kvothe is approached by the chronicler, an itinerant traveler whose life’s aim is to follow and find the true story behind legends. It is basically a story within a story, where the present Kvothe recounts his past, facing hardships in life, going through abject poverty, and then finally going to a place where he belongs. The first few chapters are dedicated to Kvothe’s early education in the arts with his family’s troupe, and the fond memories of his early childhood. Kvothe witnesses his entire troupe getting massacred by the Chandrian, a group of mythical demons who kill people for no apparent reason. Young Kvothe, orphaned, uses his wit and considerable talent to survive, and vows to know more about the Chandrian, and why they targeted his parents. He uses

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Jyotiroop Das Hopeless romantic

this as a driving force to get admitted to the University, which houses the archives, the largest library in the world. The entire story is in the form of a first person narrative. Because of this, the book doesn’t reduce to the hero performing pointless quests and tasks; rather, it becomes a very well planned coming of age story. Kvothe uses his talent as a musician, an actor and a thief to make true friends and gain mortal enemies. For romantics like me, there is also a fair amount of love poetry, along with lengthy similes and metaphors describing the woman that Kvothe falls in love with. Then again, the tragedies that befall Kvothe are so passionately described that I actually ended up with a tear in my eye more than once through the book. This is one of the few books that actually make a reader feel, really feel what the character is going through. This book lacks the clichés many of the other fantasies I’ve read have. I, like many others, have fallen hard for the world that Rothfuss creates, and building a world like that isn’t child’s play. This book is essentially a power packed combination of an adventurous character, a beautiful storyline, and skilled writing rolled into one.

Cinematic Adaptation

Filth “ It’ s a filthy job getting to the top but somebody’ s got to do it.”

Sayan Maitra I don't remember, it keeps changing

hould a book be faithfully copied to the script, as and have stains from way back when. There's a is? Should it serve as a description about some condom template, for the film to grow into marked with shit that, for me, is something different? How much much more soul-scarring than the of one, and how little of the other whole Saw franchise. The number is justified? In such troubled of ways Robertson acts around to times, along come books that get his high only adds weight to throw both questions right oot ay the whole "banality of evil" thing. the fucking window. One of them The words are raw, and is Filth. Some people, through believable. The movie, on the diligence or compassion or other hand, is, well... Oh, McIvor insight, know so much about their is spot-on. The chocolate-boy places that they almost own them, hero becomes the enfant terrible, like (ir)reverent chroniclers of and he roars and rampages with their times. Wodehouse owns obvious satisfaction. The rest of Blandings, and Irvine Welsh, the cast gives full support. But Edinburgh. Trainspotting was his elsewhere, well, the "human most famous book, and Danny centipede" thing is cut loose in Boyle, with John Hodges, turned favor of "episodes", beloved of Published: 1998 it into the trippy fizzy soda drink psycho thrillers. Jim Broadbent as that has become The Cool Film for the doctor takes the place of the Author: Irvine Welsh other directors to emulate, imitate, tapeworm. Colleagues in the force Genre: Crime Fiction assimilate the best they can. And get dumbed down to highlight the now, Filth. The story is about a cop, Bruce Robertson, fall of the hero that much harshly. The film is almost and his workplace. A murder investigation is on, but fully shot in a dark manner, which makes me miss the our protagonist could be less worried about the Summer portion in Requiem For A Dream. The criminals. Almost like House of Cards, the film is background music too could have been better. The about the "games"-Robertson's foul plots designed to Creep cover by Clint Mansell seemed to spell out upstage and shame his colleagues into insignificance, instead of accompanying the scene. Throughout the all for the coveted promotion to Detective Inspector. book are littered references to music, like Meat Loaf Told in a first-person, stream-of-consciousness style, and Deep Purple, all missing in the film. The music D.S. Robertson comes across as a misanthropic and works, but doesn't hit the sweet spot, except David repressed person with substantial problems of drug Soul. But then, the book too fucks up. In its inane abuse. But that's the tip of the iceberg. The book, as is, attempt to make us feel for Robertson, it concocts an is difficult. A tapeworm runs through the middle of the improbable backstory of unfulfilled love and childhood narrative, almost like the moral backbone of the story. ostracism. The film too brings in this recurring single The descriptions are aimed for maximum queasiness. mother as a much more important bellwether of The filth is not just in the mind, but in the body too. Robertson's change. In that way, I guess, both f*** up. Robertson suffers from a skin problem that gets And so, here we are, back again at the same point. progressively worse. His clothes stink to high heaven, Should the movie copy the book, or not? The Critique

Film: Filth

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Director: Jon S. Baird

Cast: James McAvoy, Imogen Poots, Jamie Bell

Fan-Fiction

Dressing Up “ Fan-fiction isn't copying - it's a celebration. One long party, from the first capital letter to the last full stop!” ― Jasper Forde

Ankit Sethi Calmer than you are

t was Halloween night. They were dressed up as cartoons. Gallivanting around the old town, they ended up roaming the streets behind the courthouse. The costumes here were even freakier than the Amusement Mile. The air was raucous with laughter, folks bumbling into each other and making scary sounds. A group stood under the streetlight, taking swigs of whisky from a bottle. Grown-ups were trick ‘r treating and asked them for some candies. They joined the act and went door to door asking for sweets. The homes didn’t look rich or even tidy like some other neighborhoods, but the folks gave them generously.

“Five bucks a pouch.” The donut said, “I have joints too. A buck for each.”

They chewed on the candies and stumbled from alley to alley. They sat down on a bench near a broken streetlight, singing songs of merriment.

The shape swooped down on him. The donut fell and the thing on top punched and kicked him. Sounds of slashing and cracking filled the street. They huddled back into a corner, dropping the coins onto the street.

“This is the best Halloween ever.” Rob said, licking a Popsicle. “We should come here more often.” Andy said. “Yeah, the folks at the upstate parties are boring.” Rita said, resting on the steel arm. The bench creaked, and someone emerged from beneath. It was a guy dressed up as a donut, sleeping under the bench. “Stay away from me.” The donut raised his arms to shield his face. “Dude, calm down. We didn’t know you were sleeping here.” Rob said. “Are you trippin’?” Andy asked. “Huh what?” the donut said, staring at his hands. He sat down in the middle of the road and kept staring at his hands. Then he spoke up, “You guys want some pot?” “You got some?” Andy asked. “We shouldn’t…” Rita whispered. Rob stepped forward, “How much?”

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They discussed for a while, then Rob spoke, “Ok, we’ll take 3 joints.” They rummaged their pockets for coins and leftover change, when they heard a voice. “Criminals in the street” the sound boomed overhead, and then someone coughed as if stifling a laugh. They looked above, trying to figure out the source. Something was on the busted streetlight. Another sputter of cough. The donut turned and started running.

Hearing the clank, the thing turned around. In the dark, it seemed like a black shroud. It coughed again and advanced towards them. “Who are you?” Andy squeaked. The figure stopped and rose to its full height. It was just a guy, wearing a costume. He was wearing a cape and a cowl with an underwear over his pants. His face was painted in white, with bright red lips. He coughed again. “I’m the Batman.” He said and burst into laughter. He clutched his sides and coughed again, trying to stop the laughter. “You’re not the Batman.” Rob shouted, gathering his remaining courage, “You’re just some burnt out freak trying to scare us.” The man in the cowl stopped coughing. He spoke, his voice hoarse, “That is not funny. You are criminals. You are lying.” He advanced. “You must be taught a lesson.” He had a bat shaped knives in his hands. Rob lunged forward, fists tightened. The man dodged and slashed across his belly. Rob fell down, clutching his sides. “Having fun, eh?” the man whispered, and slit his mouth open. Rita screamed and Andy closed 34

his eyes, blabbering incoherence. The man grabbed Rita and started cutting from her left ear. Andy collapsed to the ground, eyes shut tight. “Watch and learn,” the man said, giggling. He kicked Andy, who was crying profusely. The man slashed her face from the left ear to the right until her body stopped squirming. He let go of her and she fell like a broken rag doll. “I know who you are.” Andy blabbered. “Do you?” The man knelt beside Andy. “I’m the guy who protects this town, from scum *cough* like *cough* you.” “The real Batman will come and he’ll…” Andy said, but his face was slit open before he could finish the sentence. “Can’t hear you.” He tilted his head over Andy’s gaping mouth, “Hello?” Someone honked a loud horn. He turned around and saw a guy in a purple suit and gloves enter the alley. He had cheap paint on his face and was wearing a cape over his head. “Not loud enough for you?” The man in the purple suit asked. The man in the cowl laughed and started listing on his fingers, “You are too tall to be the Joker. Your jaw’s too big. And you can’t laugh. You even forgot to take your cape off.” “You would like that. Won’t you?” The Man in the purple suit asked. “No, what’s the fun in that?” The man in the cowl cackled, “But your costume should be in order.” “You laugh because you understand so little of it.” The man in the purple suit said, “I’ll tell you the story of a boy who understood too little.”

happened but the boy couldn’t live with it, knowing that he was always one day behind. So he left home and set out in search of that day. He travelled far and wide, but never learned where that day went. He felt cursed and broken. He was condemned to live in a world that was always one day ahead of him.” “He gave up and returned home. He tried to resume his life but he was just a shell. He carried out his life like clockwork, never giving any thought to what he was doing. Often, he would wonder about that day. He felt cursed for understanding so little.” “Until one day, walking home from a circus, he met a trader, a lender of sorts, scribbling away in a large notebook full of names. The boy asked him the question he had asked a million people - Where did that day go?” The lender answered, “I stole it. I have been stealing folks’ days for a long time. I am much ahead of you, even if we are talking right now. By the time you get home, I’ll be in a different city.” The boy asked the lender to return that day. The lender replied that the day cannot be returned. If he wanted it so bad, he should steal someone else’s day.”

The man in the purple suit fell silent. He smacked his lips and rubbed his hands. “And? What happened then?” The man in the cowl asked. A bright spot of light filled the street, a loud noise drowning the words of the man in the purple suit. An aircraft appeared in the sky, black and shaped like a giant bat. “Master.” Alfred’s voice boomed over the street, “You must return home. You did not take your medication.” The men standing in the street cackled and ran off in opposite directions.

“There was a boy, just an ordinary kid, nothing special about him. He went to school, played and did other ordinary things. Until one morning, he woke up and found that he had missed a day. Poof! There had been the last day and that morning. The calendar said that a day existed in between, but the boy never knew of it. He had plans for that day, but he never arrived there.” “So he began looking. Looking for the day that never happened. Everyone carried on as if nothing had The Critique

Photography

Bookworms and Bibliophiles Chetan Aditya Guitarded Nirvanajunkie

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